US metal outfit The Faceless have broken their silence nearly a week after not showing up for shows in Indonesia and Australia, claiming that they and their now-ex-manager, EJ Shannon, have been "throw[n] under the bus" by local promotions company Soundworks Touring.
Where Soundworks had said that they had been forced to cut The Faceless from a current tour with The Black Dahlia Murder, Putrid Pile, Whoretopsy and Unravel — all of whom showed up without issue — over the band's "complete incompetency" following four missed flights and a lack of communication, the band's guitarist/vocalist, Michael Keene, now claims that their equipment was stolen before they left for their scheduled show in Jakarta for last weekend's Hammersonic festival.
"Just days before we were to leave to our first date in Jakarta, Indonesia, I found out that all of our equipment had been stolen," Keene wrote. "This alone was a blow devastating enough to have to cancel, but we spent all the money we had on buying new equipment and putting our live rig back together so we could play these shows.
"Everyone got into town with 2 days to rehearse because that's when all the gear we needed had arrived and I could start assembling it. As soon as we set up, we realized that there were MASSIVE issues with the system and unfortunately because of the nature of our music, we can't exactly just 'wing it' on any old gear and make it work."
Keene went on to acknowledge that, "[a]t this point, we knew we were going to miss Jakarta", though the band evidently chose to remain silent on the issue until this statement.
It essentially devolves into one long mud-slinging tirade from there, with Keene returning serve at Soundworks and claiming that it is the promoters who have prevented them from playing for Australian fans, saying that the circumstances were "completely beyond our control" and that their flights had been cancelled, not missed.
However, Shannon — whom Keene actually spends some time defending in his statement — released a statement of his own on Soundworks' original post early this morning (AEST), squarely putting the responsibility on the band's shoulders and explaining his decision to drop them as clients.
"After The Faceless missed their fourth flight, I called the band and told them that I will not be managing them anymore," he wrote. "The Faceless has hurt a lot of people by missing these shows. They have hurt the fans, Soundworks, me, and everybody else involved in organizing the shows that have been booked for this month.
"They have also unfairly hurt my reputation as a manager. So until The Faceless gets it together, I will not be managing them."
Meanwhile, Keene — who made no reference to Shannon's resignation as their manager in his statement — said that he is still trying to get in contact with the promoter of shows the band has organised in New Zealand, as "we'd like to fulfill our agreement to perform" on those dates ahead of going on to perform in Spain.
"To our fans in Spain, we will see you very soon and look forward to playing, just as we looked forward to playing Australia," he concluded.
Read both Shannon and Keene's statements below.
The Black Dahlia Murder, Whoretopsy et al tour continues in Sydney tonight. See theGuide for more info.
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